SUNDAY, AUG. 14

Spy on the Wild

Animal Planet, 8 p.m.

Scientists use technology to study animals in their habitats.

MON.-FRI., AUG. 15-19

Taking a Stand

EWTN, 4:30 a.m., 6:30 p.m.

In this five-part series of half-hour episodes, Mary Beth Bonacci and Dr. Tom Curran explain God's plan for chastity and marital love. They also urge Catholics to take a stand for truth and against the world's lies about life and love.

MONDAY, AUG. 15

A Man Who Became Pope

Hallmark Channel, 8 p.m.

Pope John Paul II was said to be “very impressed” with this four-hour dramatized “biopic” of himself, and Pope Benedict XVI lauded its portrayal of young Karol Wojtyla's bravery against Nazis and communists. Re-airs Sunday, Aug. 21, at 9 a.m. Advisory: TV-PG; Catholic News Service says it's “best for older adolescents and up” because of “wartime violence, including firing-squad executions, and scenes of dead and wounded, partial prison nudity, some unsavory verbal imagery, some crude language and brutal beatings.”

TUESDAY, AUG. 16

Civil War Journal

History Channel, 7 a.m.

This episode, “Yank vs. Reb: The Foot Soldier's Life,” mines a new trove of Civil War photos of the suffering in soldiers’ daily life, but also their diversions, including baseball.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 17

Millau Viaduct

Discovery Channel, 8 p.m.

The beautiful Millau Viaduct, built 2001-2004, spans the valley of the Tarn River in Languedoc and bypasses a traffic bottleneck on the road from Paris to southern France.

THU.-SAT., AUG. 18-20

World Youth Day 2005, Cologne

EWTN

Pope Benedict XVI's exact arrival time in Cologne on Thursday wasn't announced as of our deadline, but EWTN will air a 31/2-hour welcoming ceremony live that day at 10 a.m. A 9:30 p.m. re-air of that ceremony follows an 8 p.m. live edition of Life on the Rock direct from Cologne. A Way of the Cross airs live at 10 a.m. on Friday, with a re-air at 9 p.m. A special vigil is live at 11 a.m. on Saturday, with a re-air at 8 p.m.

FRIDAY, AUG. 19

Homes Across America

Home & Garden TV, 10:30 a.m., 5:30 p.m.

This episode's dwellings are a Texas farm house, a Puerto Rican plantation-style house and a Louisiana plantation bought by a couple whose ancestors were slaves there.

SATURDAY, AUG. 20

Everyday Italian

Food Network, 12 noon

Hostess Giada De Laurentiis throws a party with all sorts of her pizzas and calzones.

Dan Engler writes from Santa Barbara, California.